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Increase Not Supplement John 3:30 (KJV) “He must increase, but I [must] decrease.” How each of us measures what we determine to be increase or decrease varies individually, but do we understand the difference between the word “increase” and the word “supplement”? Webster’s definition of the word “supplement” is, “An addition to any thing by which its defects are supplied, and it is made more full and complete.” Webster’s definition of the word “increase” is, “To become greater in bulk or quantity or; to grow.” And according to the (ISBE) as a noun it is usually used of plant life, or of the herds and flocks, to denote the fruitage or the offspring. The point being made is that supplementing, being the form of adding too something, is no substitute for biblical increase. Biblical increase comes from allowing the Word of God, as well as the Spirit of God, to increase in us, bearing the form of new life and new fruit. Col 2:18-19 (KJV) “Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, (19) And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.” Many people today think that having a good religious view of Christianity is sufficient, so they never really get to any depth of relationship. Without the decrease of our personal opinions of Christianity, along with the gaining of the Holy Spirit’s guidance, we could only hope to cloak our old self nature. Jesus did not give His life on the cross so that we could be white washed on the outside but still dead on the inside, but rather that our whole being could be changed from the inside out. 2Co 5:17 (KJV) “Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” When you remodel something, it does not become new; it becomes different. The transformation is only complete when the old is torn down and the new is built in its place. One crucial element is having the tools both to take down the old and to build the new. When it comes to salvation, Jesus Christ is the only way, truth and life. Gal 2:20 (KJV) “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” When we live in Christ, we live in the living Christ Who now rules and reigns as King and Lord of all. Therefore it is not only what He has done that we must accept and adhere to, but most importantly, what He wants to do with each of us. If Christ is to increase in us, we must die daily to our earthly desires and stay free from the things that would consume our lives.
-Kurt Thurston
August Newsletter 2006 | Conviction Crisis | Wholeness part 1 of 3 Pastor's Journal August 2005 | Increase Not Supplement | Circumstances |
Biblical Counseling for Leaders
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